Village Gamer

Edmonton – It would be only natural to begin with the biggest game release news of the day – Bioware’s Mass Effect 2 hits store shelves across the nation today, and already the title is getting raves from every corner of the continent. I will be picking up my Collector’s Edition today, and I am really looking forward to the awesome goodness that I know will be contained in that special tin box. While EA did send an advance copy to Village Gamer, it hasn’t yet arrived (watch it be sitting in the post office box today), and while I certainly appreciate the opportunity the publisher is trying to extend to me, I never receive the titles they send until after the games have been released, and as I like to log a number of hours in a game before writing a review, well…gotta love our postal system. Not.

Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA commented on the launch of Mass Effect 2 saying, “Rich, immersive worlds, compelling characters and stories, and intense action are some of the hallmarks of BioWare games, and Mass Effect 2 truly raises the bar in every area. I’m incredibly proud of our team, who worked passionately to deliver a very high quality game for our fans. This epic sequel in the stunning Mass Effect universe is an extraordinary accomplishment, one which we can’t wait to get into the hands of a world-wide audience!”

The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players will once again step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, commanding their crew of some of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense shooter action, a rich futuristic storyline, space exploration and emotionally engaging character interaction, the game delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience.

Gamers who purchase a new copy of Mass Effect 2 will also be able to activate the ‘Cerberus Network’, an in-game portal in Mass Effect 2 that will keep fans engaged with the Mass Effect universe through downloadable content (DLC) and news at no extra charge. The first piece of DLC is available today, featuring a new mission around the Normandy crash site. For players who do not buy the game new, the ‘Cerberus Network’ can be unlocked through a one-time, in-game purchase of an activation code for 1200 MS points on the Xbox 360 and $15 on the PC. BioWare will release additional news on future ‘Cerberus Network’ content in the coming weeks. Activation is tied to a specific EA Online account and is non-transferable. Mass Effect 2 is available for the Xbox 360 and the PC and is rated ‘M’ for Mature by the ESRB

Vancouver – Vancouver Film School (VFS), Canada’s premier entertainment arts institution, and Pixologic, maker of the award-winning 2D/3D sculpting, texturing, and painting application ZBrush, today announced an official partnership agreement to provide VFS with full access to educational licenses for Pixologic’s cutting-edge software, ZBrush.

The partnership is the first of its kind for Pixologic in Canada. The agreement will primarily benefit students of VFS’s Animation & Visual Effects programs, respected worldwide for their graduates, including District 9 director Neill Blomkamp among many others. VFS students will have access to the latest innovative tools available in ZBrush, upgrades and technical support.

“Pixologic enthusiastically supports education and is committed to providing artists with the most innovative cutting edge tools of their craft,” says Pixologic Chief Operating Officer Jaime Labelle. “From illustration to animation and visual effects to game design, we at Pixologic recognize the standard of excellence that comes from the entire VFS community and are thrilled to partner and support them in their creative process.”

ZBrush’s place within the Animation & Visual Effects curriculum means that students are provided with skills and experience in a tool that is widely used on top films like Avatar, Watchmen, and District 9, and games like Gears of War 2 and Dragon Age: Origins, all properties on which VFS Animation & Visual Effects graduates have worked. The partnership gives students at VFS a crucial advantage as they begin their careers.

“This partnership really allows us to take advantage of what Pixologic brings to the table with their products,” says VFS’s Managing Director Marty Hasselbach. “It also allows Pixologic to benefit from what VFS does, and that is create fantastic work using their cutting-edge software, ZBrush.”

Vancouver – Mobile game developer IUGO has announced that their latest title Escape, which we announced a few days ago, will be going to the BlackBerry platform before it becomes available for the iPhone, with pricing to be revealed upon launch. This newest puzzler promises the following features:

*Endless levels and gameplay
*2 additional unlockable difficulty modes introduced through DLC (iPhone only)
*Simple controls for all ages
*Minimalist graphics for maximum appeal
*Unique cerebral game play complimented by relaxing audio and visual effects
*Surprisingly addictive!

Developer: Pandemic
Publisher: EA
Release Date: December 2009
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC
Number of Players: Single Player
Genre: Action-Adventure
ESRB Rating: Mature

I have logged approximately 140 hours of gameplay in Pandemic’s final title, The Saboteur, and overall I did enjoy the game. I have completed 100% of the freeplay targets as well as the mission campaign, but still have to obtain 1 gold perk and 4 achievements. In my OCD gamer style, I have spent alot of time driving or running around exploring the map, collecting cars, contraband and running into cows. The Saboteur as a game has lots that I like, but it’s impossible to not compare many of the elements to other titles such as Assassin’s Creed, Grand Theft Auto and Prototype.

The game opens at a car race where Sean first encounters the nasty Kurt Dierker from Team Doppelsieg. As the game’s hero, you play as Irishman Sean Devlin, who drives for Team Morini. Your best friend Jules Morini, is dead before the first chapter ends, setting the stage for Sean’s thirst for revenge against the Nazis and in particular, Dierker. Sean carries a heavy load of guilt as he heads for Paris with Jules’ sister Veronique and their father, Vittore. It is this guilt and vow of revenge that will enable the British to use Sean as a pawn in their battle against the Nazis. As you delve deeper into the game and storyline, there are more characters who enter the plot – Skylar, the mysterious woman from Sean’s past, Luc who heads up the Resistance, and that sneaky Bond-wanna-be from Britain, Bishop. There are other characters who play minor parts throughout the story, but these are your main game characters. Of course, only Sean Devlin is actually playable by the gamer.

I am impressed with the amount of game time offered by The Saboteur – there is certainly a lot to do in the way of collecting postcards, blowing up sniper nests and playing with some really big guns. On the converse side, those of us who have spent much time playing Asssassin’s Creed will be somewhat disappointed with the climbing and jumping abilities which have been given to the main character, Sean Devlin. Granted, he is a race car driver and not an assassin like Altair and Ezio, but I would have expected there to have been better climbing mechanics in a game which places such importance on the ability to reach building tops in order to carry out missions and destroy freeplay targets. There were times when Sean would grab ledges when I didn’t want him to, and times when he wouldn’t make a simple jump or grab a ledge to prevent a suicidal fall, even though I had specified through the controller that he do so. There were several times when I found the game’s controls to be somewhat clunky or unresponsive, and this did lead to some frustration.

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Edmonton – All eyes won’t just be on the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings this Sunday as Mass Effect 2, BioWare’s highly anticipated action-RPG video game, will appear on national television to over 35 million expected viewers with an explosive two minute launch trailer. Leading into the white-knuckle excitement of the NFC Championship’s fourth quarter, football fans and gamers alike will be on the edge of their seats for a glimpse of the non-stop action in Mass Effect 2 led by Commander Shepard in the full-length gameplay trailer, uncut and on the big screen.

Fans wanting a football and gaming fix can participate in the “Watch the NFC Championship with BioWare” event where they can interact and chat live with the Mass Effect 2 development team as they stream live from the BioWare games room via Ustream. Participants will also get an exclusive sneak peak at Mass Effect 2 as the team will stream live gameplay during halftime. Highly coveted BioWare “shwag” will also be given away to participants every 15 minutes during the event.

The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players will step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, commanding a crew of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense shooter action, a rich futuristic storyline, stunning space exploration and emotionally engaging characters, the game delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience. Mass Effect 2 is scheduled for release on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC on January 26, 2010 in North America. Mass Effect 2 has been rated M for Mature by the ESRB.

GDC SFO 2010 – The 2010 Game Developers Conference® (GDC 2010), produced by the Think Services Game Group, and Google are working together to celebrate and inspire the mobile and independent game development communities by offering the Nexus One™ phone and Verizon Droid by Motorola to qualifying developers who register to attend GDC 2010 by February 4th, 2010.

Mobile/handheld games and independent games are each the subject of a dedicated summit during GDC, as well as the subjects of many of the sessions during the main portion of GDC–making conference attendees great potential developers of new content for phones using the Android(TM) operating system.

In recent years, the smartphone has become one of the most widespread and widely-used game platforms, and has proven particularly suited to independent developers experimenting with new and unusual gameplay.

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Edmonton – Bioware has revealed ‘The Cerberus Network’, an in-game portal in Mass Effect 2 that will keep fans engaged with the rich and dynamic Mass Effect universe through downloadable content (DLC) and news. ‘The Cerberus Network’ is activated exclusively by original purchasers of Mass Effect 2 through a single-use unlock code that comes included in retail and digital versions of the game worldwide. ‘The Cerberus Network’ is a conduit for players to receive bonus content as well as daily messages and news on upcoming releases for Mass Effect 2 for no extra charge. For players who do not buy the game new, ‘The Cerberus Network’ can be unlocked through a one-time, in-game purchase of a new activation code, which will then be tied to a specific EA Online account and is non-transferable.

Mass Effect 2 is the first blockbuster video game release of 2010, having recently been named as one of the “Most Anticipated Games of the Year” by the New York Times, IGN and Wired. The title finished in second place in our own Canadian Video Game Awards, one percentage point behind Dead Rising 2 for Most Anticipated 2010 Title.

“The Cerberus Network augments and extends the rich universe of Mass Effect 2,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA. “We’re thrilled to be able to reward loyal BioWare and Mass Effect fans with ongoing, high quality content and provide a direct channel for our players to dive deeper into the intriguing lore of Mass Effect.”

Players who access ‘The Cerberus Network’ will receive the first DLC pack on January 26th (launch day in North America) featuring new missions and in-game items. Included in this pack is a mission that introduces Zaeed, a rugged and deadly gun-for-hire who is recruited to join Commander Shepard’s mission to save mankind.

After launch, BioWare will release another DLC pack for Mass Effect 2 that introduces the Hammerhead, a new vehicle in the Mass Effect universe. This agile hover tank features improved handling on rough terrain and maneuvers deftly in combat — a necessity for players traveling across harsh planetary environments throughout the galaxy. In addition to this new vehicle, BioWare will release new missions and unique in-game items, including Cerberus Assault Armor which boost shields, health and heavy weapon ammo and the M-22 Eviscerator Shotgun.

The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players will step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, commanding a crew of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense shooter action, a rich futuristic storyline, stunning space exploration and emotionally engaging characters, the game delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience.

Mass Effect 2 is scheduled for release on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC on January 26, 2010 in North America and has been rated ‘M’ for Mature by the ESRB.

Edmonton – Most Dragon Age: Origins fans probably already know this, but the DLC pack Return To Ostagar is now available for download. I grabbed it from XBL for 400 MSPoints last night, but haven’t yet had time to play through it. I’m going to work some DA play time in today between returning from the Salt Mine and the return of Bones this evening, and will share my thoughts on the expansion with you tomorrow.

*Update – and just as I posted this, I received another update that the DLC released yesterday is buggy and has been removed. No further updates on the Return to Ostagar DLC are available at this time. This is sad.

Montreal – Ubisoft has released a new video for Splinter Cell: Conviction. Sam Fisher’s old friend Victor Coste shares his views on what’s happened to Sam, and delivers what amounts to a thinly veiled warning for his interviewers. The video features a quick look-back at some Sam’s previous assignments and important events which serve to lead us to where the story currently sits.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua9RCm1vqN4]

Online – The CATAAlliance and Canadian Innovation Centre invite you to join them on January 19 for their “Critical Factor Assessment: Are You Ready to Succeed” webinar.

Your new technology innovation may be leading edge, but there are many other factors that will influence your ability to win in the marketplace. Examining these issues upfront can help you determine your readiness to succeed, and what gaps you need to fill to enhance your chances of success.

The Critical Factors Assessment (CFA) service offered by the Canadian Innovation Centre, has been used to evaluate over 20,000 innovations. It has been proven to be an accurate predictor of success. This predictive power is made possible by the proprietary, peer-reviewed tool covering 40 factors that are key to any commercialization endeavour, supported by an extensive library of case studies and secondary research.

The CFA tool has been adapted for use by many organizations in evaluating start-ups opportunities and it often helps in securing early financing.

Join us to learn about the Critical Factor Assessment process and how it can help you increase your probability of success.

Critical Factor Assessment: Are You Ready to Succeed
Date : Tuesday January 19th at 12:00 EDT
Register : Online
There is no cost to attend, but space is limited, so don’t miss it – sign-up now!

The Ready Set Grow webinars are intended as a resource for emerging and established Canadian Technology companies to help them accelerate their growth. Each webinar features recognized subject matter experts and Canadian tech industry executives addressing a broad range of the issues facing growing companies.

The series is being presented by the Canadian Innovation Centre and the Technology Marketing Resource Centre in collaboration with the Canadian Advanced Technology Association (CATA). The Ready Set Grow series is sponsored by Export Development Canada (EDC) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).

Vancouver – Delivered in partnership with ACETECH, BCTIA presents the first annual Xcelerate Forum, a full day committed to improving your corporate strategies and operations through dynamic two-way discussions with professional experts and industry coaches specializing in legal, finance, markets, talent, product development, planning, sales, licensing, and many more.

Xcelerate Forum is a dynamic learning experience delivering the highest degree of coaching possible in a short period of time. To ensure we deliver the best results possible, only twenty-five companies will be selected to attend Xcelerate Forum.

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Edmonton – BioWare™ has announced that accomplished composer, Jack Wall, will compose the original score for Mass Effect™ 2, the epic second act in the award-winning action-RPG trilogy. Featuring nearly three hours of extraordinary orchestral arrangements, the score explodes with a symphony of sounds that spur the game’s intense action and dramatic storytelling. Wall scored the award-winning soundtracks for the original Mass Effect.

“We are thrilled to again be collaborating with Jack Wall, this time on Mass Effect 2,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA. “Jack did an outstanding job with the original game and has a firm grasp for our vision of the trilogy. His score for Mass Effect 2 perfectly blends classic sci-fi inspired sounds with unique arrangements to achieve an emotionally charged complement to the dramatic, action-packed gameplay.”

“Working on the Mass Effect franchise has challenged me to create music beyond what I’ve written before,” said composer Jack Wall. “With Mass Effect 2, the story is even more engrossing and affecting, so it was important for me, along with my team of composers Sam Hulick, David Kates, Jimmy Hinson, and music implementation by Brian DiDomenico, to develop a score that complemented the scope and intensity of the gameplay while captivating the players and drawing them deeper into the story.”

The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players will once again step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, commanding their crew of some of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense shooter action, a rich futuristic storyline, space exploration and emotionally engaging character interaction, the game delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience.

The Mass Effect 2 soundtrack will be available for purchase from digital retailers on January 19, 2010. Mass Effect 2 is scheduled for release on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC on January 26, 2010 in North America and has been rated M by the ESRB.

Montreal – Fight together, survive together! EA Montreal reminds Canadian gamers that Army Of Two™: The 40th Day will hit retail shelves nationwide tomorrow. Army Of Two™: The 40th Day delivers an exciting action experience that has earned widespread critical acclaim including a score of 9.5 from PLAY (Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system) and 4.5/5 from PlayStation: The Official Magazine (PlayStation®3). With an average score of 83* on the Xbox 360, Army Of Two™: The 40th Day is a full 11 point quality improvement over its predecessor. The game’s signature two-man gameplay has the Official Xbox Magazine saying, “the co-op play is amazingly fun and strategic,” and PSM3 in the UK calling it, “one of the best cover-to-cover shooters on the PS3.”

Army Of Two™: The 40th Day is the sequel to the 2008 multi-platinum co-op shooter. Players work together as the ultimate two-man private military team, Salem and Rios, to survive and escape the city of Shanghai as it falls under attack by mysterious forces. The game boasts a robust playbook of co-op moves with one of the most extensive and varied weapon customization systems ever found in an action/shooter game. Players can mix and match weapon parts found in the world and execute strategic two-man tactics that create a thrilling, one-of-a-kind co-op action experience.

Army Of Two™: The 40th Day is rated M by the ESRB and will be available for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation®3, and the PlayStation® Portable (PSP®). Gamers can also download a demo of the game now on PlayStation®Network and Xbox LIVE™ Marketplace.

Developer: Valve
Publisher: Valve
Distributor: EA
Release Date: November 2009
ESRB: Mature
Platform: Windows PC and Xbox 360

In many areas, the CaveChild and I have very different views on this title. He is more of an online-multiplayer gamer than I am, and he did, for the most part, like the multi-player portions of this game, except when his 360 headset wasn’t functioning and he’d get kicked from a game because he couldn’t communicate with other players. With teamwork and communication being a huge part of the play, if you are a gamer who does not like to converse with others when playing, this portion of the game is probably not for you. In the online play, you can choose to be either a Survivor or one of the Zombie Bosses, but whichever team you are on, strategy and planning play a huge part in being the victor.

I am a gamer who likes to collect things – this mode of game play feeds my OCD-ishness, and for me at least, is an important part of the enjoyable gaming experience. Other than weaponry, there wasn’t anything to collect and horde. Characters are not given a large capacity to carry items, and for those of us who primarily play RPG-style games, this is a huge challenge. The developers have forced players to use their resources effectively, and the “pray and spray” method of killing massive numbers of enemies isn’t really an option. Thankfully there is a large selection of melee weaponry available – there is something oddly satisfying about whacking a zombie upside the head with a frying pan or cricket bat. Nothing, however, says “Die Zombie!” quite as nicely as the limited-use chainsaw.

While there are a number of drops to gain extra ammunition, molotov cocktails and other new items such as the bile bomb, in my own opinion it would’ve been a nice option to gain a hunter’s flap jacket at the gun store, thereby legitimately adding a little bit of extra storage capacity, instead of only being able to carry one “bomb item” and one medical kit.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4msxIpGh0Q]

One of the areas which I found to be particularly frustrating was in not being sure which way I was supposed to go. While the five maps are not overly large, there are specific areas which gamers must work towards in order to get to the Safe Houses. Some areas were reasonably easy to work through with a well-marked path, while other areas seemed to lack the all-important player clues as to what needed to be done and where. The ability to wander around in a semi-open world is always nice, but so is having a clear idea of where you need to be, particularly when The Director is throwing huge numbers of infected zombie folks at you. There were also too many invisible walls for our preference – and a few areas which could’ve made some great sniper nests were not available. It is somewhat evilly satisfying to literally snipe a zombie’s legs out from under him or her.

The atmosphere and setting for the game was appropriately eerie, and I will give the level designers and audio crew extra points for this. However, there were also many instances of clipping failures and targeting problems – there were times when it would take 8 or 9 shots to fall a zombie who was squarely in my sights. It was lots of fun to use the Safe Houses as “duck huts” and snipe zombies or pile up the bodies of those who rushed the door. Having an endless supply of ammo while in the Safe House was also a bonus and added more than just a few minutes to overall game time.

I would have liked to have had a longer campaign, simply because that is where my game style preference focuses. I don’t that I would consider Left 4 Dead 2 to be a hugely impressive sequel to Left 4 Dead, but it’s not a complete disappointment, either. With the different play modes which are available and with The Director looking after the AI experience and interaction for horde management and difficulty scaling, there are a decent number of hours of play available to the gamer. On the Village Gamer scale of game approval, we’ve settled on a range of 7.5 to 8.0 for Left 4 Dead 2’s overall product presentation, additions and improvements.

Vancouver – Following IUGO’s massively successful Zombie Attack! games, ZA! and ZA! Second Wave, the indie studio has launched a free version of ZA! Second Wave titled Zombie Attack! Bridge Defense. As the titles suggests, the lite version contains the bridge map for users to sample kill a variety of zombies with cool new weapons. Second Wave features more maps and hordes of challenges in the full version. IUGO also recently unveiled their web site’s nice new design – head on over to check out its shiny awesomeness and all of IUGO’s titles today – and don’t forget to vote for IUGO and other great Canadian games, publishers and studios in our Reader’s Choice Canadian Video Game Awards – only one week left to vote!

At CES: Palm released details about their developer kit for webOS during their 3D gaming announcement at the Expo, where they introduced several graphics-intensive game titles for webOS, from leading game developers EA Mobile™, Gameloft, Glu Mobile and Laminar Research. Demonstrated at Palm’s CES event, the games will be available today in the Palm App Catalog for Palm Pre customers.

“We are very excited about the potential of webOS as a platform for mobile 3D gaming,” said Katie Mitic, senior vice president, Product Marketing, Palm, Inc. “This is a key application category, and we’ve worked closely with some of the leading game developers to deliver a great game experience for our customers.”

“Recent improvements to Palm webOS represent major advancements in enabling world-class mobile gaming,” said Travis Boatman, vice president of Worldwide Studios for EA Mobile. “These innovations have allowed us to quickly bring our best IP to the platform.”

The developers introducing titles today have had early access to the Palm webOS Plug-in Development Kit (PDK), which extends the Palm webOS Software Development Kit (SDK) with a set of tools, documentation and APIs that let developers write plug-ins for their webOS applications. The PDK lets developers easily integrate C and C++ code into their webOS applications, enabling new functionality, including immersive 3D games. A public beta version of the webOS PDK is scheduled to be available to all developers in March.

“The performance of the platform allowed us to create these great games in a limited timeframe,” said Baudouin Corman, vice president of publishing, Americas, Gameloft. “webOS allows us to deliver an outstanding gaming experience, and we look forward to bringing our best games to Palm customers worldwide.”“We expect the plug-in model to play an important role in the evolution of the webOS platform, just as plug-ins have with web browsers,” said Mitic. “And with this plug-in, we are making it super-simple for developers to bring the hottest games to webOS.” Read the rest of this entry »

Edmonton – Hot on the heels of missing the release date for Dragon Age’s DLC Return to Ostagar (and the mysterious removal of its announcement from the front page of the game’s site), Bioware has announced that Dragon Age™: Origins – Awakening, the first official expansion pack to Dragon Age: Origins, the recent recipient of Spike TV’s Best RPG and PC Game of 2009, IGN’s Best RPG of 2009, CNN.com’s Best RPG of 2009. Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening will be available for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC on March 16, 2010.

Designed and written by the same team that brought you Dragon Age: Origins, the Awakening expansion pack offers a brand new area of the world to explore known as Amaranthine, featuring an epic story that will allow players to unravel the secrets of the darkspawn – and their true motivations! Players will face a range of horrific and terrifying creatures including an evolved, intelligent breed of darkspawn and other menacing creatures such as the Inferno Golem and Spectral Dragon. Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening provides exciting new ways for players to customize their heroes and party, including the ability to re-spec their character attributes, allowing even greater customization and replayability. Featuring an increased level cap, new spells, abilities, specializations and items, plus five all-new party members, players can continue their adventures from Dragon Age: Origins, or begin with a brand new character.

“Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening shows BioWare’s commitment to our fans by delivering new story-driven experiences which enrich the dark heroic fantasy universe our fans have come to know and love,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group, EA, and Co-Founder, BioWare. “The vibrant worldwide community of Dragon Age fans will relish uncovering the secret motivations of the darkspawn, revealing how the darkspawn continue to infest the world despite the defeat of the Archdemon.”

Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening, BioWare’s next thread in the Dragon Age: Origins tapestry, occurs following the events of Dragon Age: Origins and puts players into the role of a Grey Warden Commander entrusted with rebuilding the order of Grey Wardens. In addition to rebuilding the ranks of the Grey Wardens, you will be tasked with uncovering the mystery of how the darkspawn survive after the slaying of the Archdemon. How players choose to rebuild their order, resolve the conflict with the mysterious “Architect,” and determine the fate of the darkspawn are just some of the many intriguing moral choices that will shape each player’s heroic journey. Players will be able to import their character from Dragon Age: Origins or start out as a new Grey Warden from the neighboring land of Orlais.

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